Regents replace proposed DEI, CRT policy with one aiming to avoid ‘indoctrination’

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IOWA CITY — Instead of passing a new policy banning Iowa’s public universities from requiring students to take courses with “substantial” DEI or CRT content to satisfy any major, minor, or certificate, the Board of Regents — facing fierce backlash — has found an “alternative approach” aiming to avoid “indoctrination of one perspective.”

The board’s redirection comes in response to widespread criticism from faculty, staff, students, and alumni of the proposed policy’s infringement on academic freedom, First Amendment rights, and the board’s own free speech policy.

“As drafted, these requirements pose a clear violation of academic freedom,” UI professor and Department of History Chair Colin G